Hi everyone,
I know this isn’t Facebook, but this is pretty much my Hail Mary. I'm currently in medical school and our graduation requirements include completing clinical rotations, which is basically where you work with a physician (M.D. or D.O only) anywhere between 2-4 weeks at a time. What do I need to do with the physician? That's up to them. I can see as many or as few patients as they like; read up on topics and present on them; stay full or partial days--it just depends on what they want.
That is pretty easy to arrange if you have someone in your family who is in the medical field or have a family friend who is one. Unfortunately, I’m a first-generation student, so I don't have the same type of connections as other people do. My school has coordinators that are, in theory, supposed to help out with this kind of stuff, but they aren't much help. They just direct you to websites with outdated information. I'm already aware of VSLO and Clinician Nexus. Not much help there either.
That said, I have to resort to finding opportunities myself. If you are aware of any physicians who might be willing to have a student for 2-4 weeks and get paid by the school afterwards as compensation, I would love to know. Big universities are usually affiliated with certain hospitals and give priority to their own students, so unless you have a close connection with a physician there, it won't do me much good to try and talk to the folks at UofL.
A little bit about me if that makes any difference:
- Mid 20s, originally from TN
- First generation student
- Bilingual and native Spanish speaker
- Hobbies: I like to read, play guitar, chess, video games, watch anime, and work out
- Medical interests: neurology and psychiatry
Moreover, despite my interests, I am fine with any speciality since the gaps I need to fill won’t have much of an impact on my residency applications. My most immediate need is finding a physician to work with between 10/19 - 11/13 and I can go from there.
Thanks for your time and have a great day